


Window for a Little Boy

by HQ_Wingster



Series: Hogwarts Life [1]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Wizards, Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Gen, Hogwarts Letters, Human Korosensei (Assassination Classroom), Parent-Child Relationship, Pre-Hogwarts, Wizarding World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:06:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11171976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HQ_Wingster/pseuds/HQ_Wingster
Summary: [1st Year]One peculiar summer morning, Nagisa received a letter from Hogwarts. Someone was coming to the house to explain everything, and Nagisa doubted that his mother was going to listen or even believe in the stranger. But nonetheless, wizards had a way of persuading.





	Window for a Little Boy

    4 Privet Drive was a cozy, modern replica next to its brothers and sisters in the neighborhood. For a newcomer arriving in the area for the first time, finding the house was like searching for a crooked match in a matchbox. Everything was the same, except for a single quality that rarely surfaced. Just like its brother and sisters, 4 Privet Drive was adorned with baby blossoms and teenage grass. Cut short with a manual mower, as to not disturb the quintessential peace bred into the neighborhood.

    A single light came from upstairs, but soon cut with a knife as the pitter-patter of feet ran down the stair steps inside. In the kitchen, a mother was making breakfast. Fine dishes and cups arranged daintily over the tablecloth. Tea and orange juice poured and sipped, and Hiromi Shiota called for her child. A sweet, tender voice tickled Nagisa’s ears. For a second, he dared to stand still to hear what his mother was doing. The scrapes of a knife against a cutting board. The punctured squish of orange slices cut in a meticulous manner. One second was too long, so Nagisa hurried down the stairs and poked his head into the kitchen. His mother’s back stared at him.

    “Nagisa, can you be a dear and fetch the mail?” Hiromi slammed her knife down. A pesky orange slice came out wrong, and the rest of the fruit was at the mercy of her grip when she ripped off the flesh from the slice and threw away the peel. Only the best for _her_ child. Nothing less from perfect. Hiromi scratched the tip of her knife down the cutting board. Friendly words came out. “I know you’re still by the door.”

    After all these years, Nagisa wasn’t fazed anymore. He apologized before shuffling away. There were a few envelopes by the door, and Nagisa bent down to pick them up. A few bills, a reply from _another_ private tutor his mother picked out, some ads about cleaning products that his mother bought but never used, and a peculiar brown envelope. Nagisa licked his lips. No postage stamp, not even a legit return address. Written in fine cursive over the top was an institution Nagisa had never heard of.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

The receiver was him. A practical joke? Nagisa sighed. He was already enrolled into a boarding school. There was already a private tutor visiting the house every other day for the past four years. And yet, his mother decided to enroll him into _another_ school. It was almost as if she forgot what it was like to be a child, but Nagisa knew better than to argue. And yet, his mother would never enroll him into a school like this. Magic? Wizardry? Hiromi Shiota was a woman of curt words. She wanted things in an instant. Yes or No. Stop or Go. Don’t heed her words, it was off to the cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the day.

Nagisa hid the peculiar envelope under his shirt and returned to the kitchen. His mother already had the food laid out, and she was sipping her tea with a pleasurable purr when Nagisa came in. She didn’t ask why it took so long, or why Nagisa refused to meet her gaze when he handed in the mail. Something else bothered her instead.

“Sweetheart, you know that I like it when your hair is down.” Hiromi gingerly tugged the hair ties out from her son’s hair. Curling her fingers around a few loose strands. “One should never hide who they are.”

Nagisa hid his trembling hand behind his back. He played a nice smile for his mother before taking his seat at the table. Gazing down at his plate, Nagisa hesitated before picking up a spoon. There were three spoons next to his breakfast plate. Various sizes and various tasks. Today, Nagisa picked up the right spoon for his meal and his mother gushed about how _smart_ her little baby was.

Distracted with a few bills, Nagisa brushed his long hair back when his mother furrowed her eyebrows at the expenses. She didn’t say anything, but the upper portion of her arm shook. Translating into a shaky fist under the table. Nagisa ate slowly. His mother hated it when he left the table so soon. Nibbling his protein and sipping orange juice, Nagisa’s other hand touched the envelope that bulged under his shirt. The letter had shifted and was over his stomach, well hidden because of the distance and the tablecloth between him and Hiromi. Speaking of his mother, Hiromi stood up unexpectedly and went straight to her son.

Nagisa’s free hand covered his stomach, and the eleven year old gazed up to his mother sweetly. There was nothing sweet about her gaze. Nagisa dropped the act.

“Electric bill is higher this month.” Hiromi tapped her foot. Nagisa mumbled that the air conditioner was working harder because it was still summer. His lips moved, but there was no voice behind it. Nagisa bit his bottom lip when his mother slammed the bill next to his breakfast plate. The cup of orange juice tipped over, bleeding over the white tablecloth. Nagisa glanced down at the expense. To him, it was just a number. A number with a monetary value, but a number that wasn’t very high. Not something for orange juice to be spilled over for.

The look in his mother’s eyes. The sheer _anger_ that bubbled up because of the number. The dining table wasn’t a dining table anymore. It was a table for interrogation. Hiromi pulled her seat over. Sat very close to her child, so close that Nagisa didn’t dare to scoot away. Unless he wanted to reveal what was hiding under his shirt.

Hiromi’s voice was sweet. Slowly drilling in questions as to why the electricity bill was higher than usual. What was Nagisa up to? Leaving the TV on while he went outside to play? Having the lights on when the gorgeous sun outside lit up the entire house from certain angles. Was Nagisa flicking on and off the lights around the house for amusement? Each question drilled deeper and deeper into Nagisa’s mind, but the boy stayed steady. If he showed a hint of weakness, his mother was bound to exploit it. Keep a straight face, look at her in the eyes, and stay quiet.

“I’ve noticed a light in your room when you’re supposed to be sleeping,” Hiromi finally said, voice as sharp as a knife. Nagisa had no explaination for that. For the past month or so, whenever he tried to sleep, the light in his room was always on. At first, he thought his mother had been coming by to check up on him, but as the days passed, he didn’t believe so. Nagisa distinctly remembered turning the light off before going to sleep, but then he would wake up and they were on again. Was he sleepwalking? Despite the unbearable heat, Nagisa buried himself under all the blankets he ever owned and went to sleep one night, only to wake up fairly early in the morning to see that the light was on. No matter what he did, the light never stayed off at night.

Maybe it was tight in some areas, and little Nagisa balanced himself over stacks of books to tighten the bulb. No change. Eventually, Nagisa gave up and got used to sleeping with the light on. His mother wasn’t pleased, and off to the cupboard Nagisa went. Huddled by the door where thin strips of light crept into the darkness. A spider or two came to comfort the boy, and Nagisa dug around until he found some spare hair ties that he left behind. Tying his hair into a ponytail, Nagisa peered through the little peak hole on the door, watching his mother walk back and forth. From the kitchen to the living room.

She settled somewhere in the house, and all was calm and quiet. Better than it has been. Hiromi was learning to control her explosions, and Nagisa liked it better if his mother had yelled. At least then, this silent fear wouldn’t be squeezing his heart. Pulling the Hogwarts letter from under his shirt, Nagisa smoothed it out and held it up to the light for him to read. Apparently, he got invited to a school that’ll teach him magic. He had to reply back, but Nagisa knew it was impossible.

One, he would have to ask his mother for an envelope and postage stamp. Two, he couldn’t talk to the mailman in the morning unless he wanted his mother to be breathing down his neck in curiousity. Three, Nagisa didn’t know the return address for Hogwarts. The more he thought about it, the more Nagisa really wondered if this was a joke. Why would a school suddenly reach out to him? Nagisa was young, and his mother controlled every aspect of his academic life. Like a Queen on a chessboard. Free to move almost anywhere without a restraint. Nagisa was her pawn, and she wanted him to be a Queen when the boy wanted to be a Rook.

Well, the letter did say that someone from Hogwarts was going to show up tonight to explain the details. Nagisa gulped. Could the person persuade his mother? Hiromi had already signed her son up for boarding school, and she had to fetch a pretty coin for the tuition expenses. No wonder a minute change on a bill had her fuming. She wasn’t going to take kindly to the stranger that’ll come tonight. Nagisa was sure of that. Until then, Nagisa pocketed the letter and kept quiet.

When the sun was about to set, Hiromi came to free her son. She embraced Nagisa, as if he came back from a long, terrible war. She held her precious little boy close, whispering tender things into her son’s ear.

 _Hypocrite._ That one word echoed in Nagisa’s mind. He hated this. He hated this facade, _this cursed mask that he was forced to put on._ He was expected to be okay, to have learned his lesson. All this lesson did was drive another wedge between him and his mother, and Nagisa couldn’t say anything. Licking his lips, he asked for a big cup of water and Hiromi dutifully delivered one. The two were in the living room. Nagisa sipped slowly while his mother tugged the hair ties out from his hair. Running her fingers through the loose strands and massaging Nagisa’s scalp. If Nagisa was a chicken, he would puff up his feathers to show that it bothered him. Alas, a boy couldn’t grow feathers, so Nagisa’s trembling grip did the talking while the boy sipped his big glass of water.

A knock at the door. At this hour? Hiromi left the couch and looked through the peephole at the top of her door. On the other side, was a nice-looking young man. A suit and tie as his appearance while a mop of hair curled down to his nape. Clear dark eyes with a sincere smile over his lips. A little suitcase by his hip. An insurance agent? Door-to-door salesman? Hiromi didn’t have time for this, but the man caught sight of her gaze through the peephole and rang the doorbell. Hiromi opened the front door by a sliver.

The stranger bowed his head. “You must be Hiromi Shiota, Nagisa’s mother.”

Hiromi narrowed her eyes. Nagisa listened from the living room, feeling an invisible knife crawl up to his neck. Again and again, Nagisa mentally-swore that he never told anyone where he lived. But this person wasn’t just a ‘someone’. He was a person from Hogwarts, Nagisa was sure of it. The boy didn’t finish his glass of water. Too scared to choke on a sip.

“I’m sorry, you’re mistaken.” Hiromi opened the door a little wider for an apologetic look. “I’ve never heard of that person before.”

“Oh no, I am very sure that this is 4 Privet Drive,” said the stranger. He unclasped his suitcase and pulled a sealed envelope out. “I’m here to discuss a boarding school that might catch your interest.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have a son.” The word came out like bad medicine. Nagisa didn’t miss it. His mother was scratching her side of the front door. “I have no interest in a boarding school or even attending one. You have the wrong person.”

“Ms. Shiota, you have admitted one thing to me.” The stranger took a step forward. “You may deny that you have a son, but you didn’t deny that you have a child. It will be a great pleasure to meet and speak with them, if you may.”

Hiromi didn’t close the door fast enough. The stranger caught the door before it slammed and excused himself as he stepped in. Nagisa hid behind a couch cushion when his mother grabbed the stranger’s sleeve and ordered him to get out of the house. The sharp shrill of her voice stung Nagisa’s ears, but at least he wasn’t at the receiving end. But nonetheless, it was a voice he didn’t want to hear. He shrunk behind the couch cushion, closing his eyes.

Hiromi dragged the stranger back to the front door, but the door had slammed and it wouldn’t open to her touch. She cursed and wrestled with the doorknob, but the stranger told her that it was no use. He wanted her to hear him out. At that moment, Hiromi realized that she and Nagisa weren’t alone in the house and a sickeningly sweet smile plastered itself over her face. She led the stranger to the living room, as if he was an old colleague from work. Nagisa peeked over the couch cushion.

The stranger knelt down in front of him and pushed his sealed envelope into Nagisa’s little hands. The boy stiffened. This was the same envelope that came in the mail. The Hogwarts letter. The stranger winked before introducing himself as the Headmaster of said boarding school. That piqued Hiromi’s interest and she asked the Headmaster if he cared for some water or tea. He shook his head and told her to call him “Koro-sensei”. Formalities aside, Koro-sensei wanted this experience to be as mellow as possible. Considering why he was here.

He didn’t sit when Hiromi came back with a cup of tea. Instead, Koro-sensei paced back and forth. Explaining Hogwarts. Hiromi rolled her eyes when she heard “magic” and “wizardry”, but she didn’t say anything. Nodding her head along while this _maniac_ paced back and forth in her pristine living room. On the other side of the spectrum, Nagisa clung to every word Koro-sensei said. Hogwarts sounded amazing, and the school personally sought him out. His mother had no involvement, and a sudden warmth bubbled up from Nagisa’s chest.

“I know that was a lot to take in so I will let you both digest the words.” A wand slipped down Koro-sensei’s arm and he waved it over over Nagisa’s head. Suddenly, the boy’s hair moved on its own. Lifting itself as hair ties flew up and tied the loose strands into a happy ponytail. Not a breath besides Koro-sensei’s was in the living room. Hiromi froze, wide mouth and eyes. Nagisa reached up to touch his ponytail. A deep blush settled over his cheeks, and Nagisa petted his hair.

“Do you believe me now, Ms. Shiota?” Koro-sensei was a gentle soul. The words came out naturally, like he had said them a thousand times before. “Magic isn’t a mere trick meant to deceive. It’s a lesson that helps humans come to terms with the world beyond their reach, beyond their imagination. I will like to your son to join that world. No worry, he can still come home during the breaks and for summer. Magic-use is strictly forbidden in the household, so this perfect little facade you have going in this neighborhood will be not tarnished in anyway.”

Hiromi flinched, and Nagisa sat up straighter and in awe.

“Nagisa, would you like to attend Hogwarts?”

“He will _not.”_ Hiromi crossed her arms. “Come the end of June, Nagisa will be attending Smeltings Academy. I will not--”

Koro-sensei barely had to raise his wand for Hiromi to quiet down. It wasn’t pointed at her, but the thought of a man being able to warp reality to his will was frightening enough for a Muggle. Koro-sensei repeated his question again. A soft voice for Nagisa. The boy in question fiddled with his thumbs.

Hogwarts did sound more enjoyable that Smeltings, but could he handle it? Nagisa didn’t know anything about magic. He couldn’t do what Koro-sensei could do. If he attended, he would stick out like a sore thumb and people would know that he didn’t belong. His mother caught word of this thought and exploited it, saying that Koro-sensei was insensitive to her son’s well-being.

“On the contrary, Ms. Shiota, not _every_ student requires a magical background. It’s the diversity of childhoods and experiences that makes Hogwarts a truly special place in this subtle corner of the world. Nagisa will not be alone. There are other non-magical-- _also known as muggle-borns--_ first-years that will be attending as well. Just because his knowledge of magic is nonexistent, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have what it takes to learn. Why, Nagisa has already exhibited his magic already.”

The door that refused to open at Hiromi’s touch, the light in Nagisa’s room that turned on in rebellion against his mother’s wishes, and the endearing spiders in the cupboard that gave Nagisa comfort when he was locked away. Small little things that Nagisa never thought about, but were they really from his _own_ powers? His _own_ magic? Nagisa licked his chapped lips.

“However, I will not force Nagisa to attend if he doesn’t want to.”

Hiromi lifted her head at those words. Koro-sensei shrugged. He understood that not everyone was up to joining a new world. Joining something came from free-will, instead of a forceful shove into an unknown abyss. Koro-sensei’s eyes never left Nagisa. The small boy swore he saw a window in Koro-sensei’s eyes. It was a fleeting sight, and Nagisa yearned to know more. Know more about this magic that he had and what he can do with it. So for the very last time, Koro-sensei repeated his question. To go or to stay.

Hiromi fidgeted. Nagisa glanced to his left.

Hiromi slammed her hands over her knees. “Nagisa is _far_ too young to be making decisions about--”

_“Mom, I want to go to Hogwarts.”_

The words crept out from Nagisa’s lips. Not a hint of hesitation, but strong with determination. The young boy gulped. He didn’t say much, didn’t elaborate, but Nagisa had a feeling. Yes, he was young. Yes, his mother had wasted a pretty coin to take him to a top-notch boarding school. But in regards to how Nagisa wanted to spend the rest of his life until adulthood, he didn’t want to be sheltered from what he _could_ learn. Magic may’ve had nothing to do with engineering, but it was something Nagisa was interested in. It was something unique and different that not everyone had a chance to learn. And if Nagisa could learn it, why couldn’t it be one of his options.

Because despite everything, the young boy had come to grips that he and his mother _needed_ a healthy distance from each other. And if Nagisa could control what he learned and what he wanted to pursue, it was a wonderful asset and lesson that he would appreciate for life.

**Author's Note:**

> I think it's very important to point out that Nagisa didn't say a /true/ line of dialogue until he stood up against his mother, in regards to his academic life.


End file.
